If she was not mistaken, Madam Du would execute her plans once they were done burning incense, on the way back from Huguo Temple.
Hiding at a certain spot, would be the slave traders Madam Du had already contactedâââaltogether two people, a man and a woman, both of them incomparably ugly. At that time, Madam Du hadnât received any money from them, only requested them to sell her as far as possible. It would be best if she wouldnât be able to return to the capital her whole life.
Ah Luo was coming up with a plan step by step, while she followed behind Madam Du.
Didnât she want to sell her? Good, then let her see whether she had the skill to.
Still, she hoped that when the time came, nanny Ye wouldnât get too scared. She wanted to forever remain an innocent little miss in her nannyâs heart.
Wei Luo really liked her.
For as long as she could remember, nanny Ye had taken care of her. Perhaps she treated her even better than her own children. Moreover, when the past Ah Luo had wanted to return home to the Ying residence to get acknowledged by her relatives, and after the mother and daughter pair had disfigured her face, only nanny Ye had recognized her and taken her in to look after her. Unfortunately, Wei Luoâs body wasnât strong enough and didnât last long. Eventually, she drew her last breath, filled with hatred.
If nanny Ye had known of Madam Duâs intentions, sheâd have naturally gone all out to protect her, right?
Too bad she hadnât known, and Wei Luo had died, very pitifully at that.
She wondered whether Madam Du had had any dreams about her when sheâd slept at night. Had she been happy to conspire with Wei Zheng to ruin her (Wei Luoâs) face? The feeling of cutting someoneâs skin open must have been pretty good? Wei Luo thought she was a little eager to try it out for herself.
The corners of her mouth lifted, she was obviously thinking of cruel things, yet her face showed a sweet smile.
Wei Luo repeatedly looked out of the window, her eyes sweeping the surroundings.
There were many people on the streets, coming and going about their business, from the well-dressed rich people to the rags-wearing beggars. Because it was so crowded, the carriage moved slowly, letting Wei Luo look around very carefully.
Along the way, the carriage suddenly stopped. Madam Duâs maidservant, Ning Xue, raised the curtain to inquire about the reason. Apparently two carriages had collided, blocking the road in front, so the driver had to stop near a mask booth.
Ning Xue said: âWe were unlucky. Madam, should we take another road?â
Madam Du didnât want to waste time, preparing to nod, âJust as wellâŠâ
Wei Luo, who hadnât spoken until now, opened her mouth to say: âMadam, look, there are so many masks here! Ah Luo wants to buy a mask.â
Madam Du barely kept a smiling face. Every time Ah Luo called her âmadamâ, it made her heart feel uncomfortable. Though she wanted to get angry on the spot, she changed her mind as she had to keep deceiving that little girl. The girl was clever, if she discovered something was amiss, then she could make things difficult by running away. Thinking about that, she forced a smile, âAh Luo, be good, we must go to Huguo Temple to burn incense. Letâs buy the mask after we come back.â
Ah Luo shook her head quickly, âNo, I want to buy it now!â
She saw that Madam Du intended to refuse, her lips pursed and she changed tactics: âJust a moment ago at home, madam said sheâd buy a mask for Ah Luo. A promise must be kept. Did madam deceive me? I must tell daddy!â She knew how to use both threats and persuasion. Seeing that Madam Duâs complexion wasnât good, she blinked her bright and clever eyes, pointing at the mask booth nearby, âIâll only buy one⊠Madam, buy me one. If you do, Iâll be obedient!â
Madam Du was overwhelmed by the pestering and considered for a moment. Anyway, the road was blocked for the time being. It would be better to yield to Wei Luoâs request, so she wouldnât make trouble later. Furthermore, the servants in the carriage were her own people, while Jin Lu and nanny Ye sat in another carriage behind them. There was nowhere for the girl to run, so she agreed in the end.
Madam Du said to Ning Xue: âGo and help the fourth miss buy a mask. Donât walk around, come back immediately after.â
Ning Xue complied with the order, reluctantly holding out a hand for Wei Luo, âMiss, come with me.â
Wei Luo pretended not to see her and avoided the hand. She directly jumped down from the carriage, and bounded towards the mask booth. In a few steps she was there.
Ning Xue was Madam Duâs person, since she knew of the madamâs plans, she didnât have a good opinion of Wei Luo. After getting ignored by Wei Luo, she humphed and flung her sleeves, following behind her with discontent.
*
Wei Luoâs legs were short, standing in front of the booth, she couldnât see the vendor. She was not in a hurry. Looking and touching around the various masks, it seemed as if she was taking her time choosing.
In the end, she turned to the person standing nearby and tugged at his indigo coat. Using a sweet small voice, she called out to him softly: âBig brother, I like the mask youâre holding, can you let me take a look?â
The opposite party paused and glanced down, only to see a little kid standing there.
Her hair was in a bun, held up by a silk string and decorated with a pearl encrusted golden ornament. She wore a delicate green dress with persimmon patterns and gilt brocade. It appeared she was a wealthy familyâs daughter, a pampered young miss.
He casually caressed the demon mask, and with a deep and gentle voice asked: âDo you want it?â
He was just a youth, yet there was an impossible to overlook noble air about him. His profile gave off a beautiful and gallant impression. Only around 15â16 years old, but he had the bearings of someone, who had weathered many storms. The kind of calm and aloof manner, that others couldnât imitate. The reason Wei Luo had decided to buy a mask at this point⊠Of course, it was because of the two bodyguards looming behind the youth. They looked like they excelled at the martial arts.
Wei Luo nodded, âYes!â
Zhao Jie, who had just returned from Wurong (might be an army base), wasnât in a hurry to return to the palace. Heâd meant to take a walk around the streets, didnât expect a small girl would start a conversation with him on her own. Unfortunately, he really didnât have the patience to deal with children, even if the girl was very pretty. He handed her the mask and prepared to leave: âHere, for you.â
But would Ah Luo let him go so easily? She had come out of the carriage because of him!
He was holding the mask in front of her, hadnât withdrawn his hand yet. Ah Luo grasped his wrist, her small petal-like mouth revealed sharp teeth, and bit down.
Her bite was really heavy, her teeth fully sank into his skin. Soon enough, blood filled her mouth.
Zhao Jie was caught off-guard. He raised his hand to shake her off, but the small girlâs bite was too strong, clinging to his wrist stubbornly. His two attempts to shake her off were unsuccessful. The guards drew their swords and rushed forward, not minding that they were in the middle of the bustling street. The blades gleamed with an eerie light under the sun, advancing towards Ah Luoâs body. Ah Luo avoided them quickly and hid behind Ning Xue, showing a pair of laughing eyes.
It was an obviously challenging look, as if saying âCome and get me.â
Cold light flashed in Zhao Jieâs eyes. He looked down at his wrist and saw the deep, blood-stained wound. Thinking he was dealing with a simple pampered young miss, he got careless. He never expected that this small girl had a pair of fangs, viciously gnawing on people.
The bodyguards waited for instructions: âMaster?â
Zhao Jie lifted his eyes, staring at Wei Luo, who was hiding behind Ning Xue, âBring her to me, I want to see what kind of sharp teeth she has grown.â
The bodyguards received the order and prepared to act. As for Ah Luo, she ran fast. Even though she was small, her speed wasnât to be underestimated. Stepping on the pedal, she climbed inside the carriage, dropped the dark curtain, and refused to come out.
Ning Xue, who was left behind to face the two bodyguards, mentally complained about Ah Luo. Not wanting to complicate the matters, she had to appease them with a smile: âEsteemed young master, our familyâs miss is only six years old. Do not lower yourself to the same level with herâŠâ
A bodyguard wearing black clothes scowled: âSix years old? A six year old can be this vicious? She almost took a bite out of our master!â
Ning Xue knew her side was on the wrong, repeatedly apologized.
Finally, Madam Du got impatient in the carriage and called her to come up. Ning Xue was relieved.
The black-roofed carriage slowly carried on, Wei Luo poked her small head from the window and looked behind.
Zhao Jie was also looking at her, and saw her open her mouth, slowly uttering several words.
âNot, tasty, at all!â
Zhao Jieâs complexion changed.
The bodyguard Zhu Geng, who had spoken a moment ago, asked: âYour Highness, do you want your subordinate to bring back that girl, to let you deal with her?â
Zhao Jie was silent, didnât approve, but also didnât refuse.
*
The carriage arrived at Huguo Temple. Madam Du lead Wei Luo into the magnificent main hall, burned incense, prayed, and kowtowed in worship.
Her acting was always thorough. Madam Du, even when anxious, would keep up appearances and follow the custom. After completing all these, they prepared for the trip back. Wei Luo suddenly ran up to nanny Yeâs side, and raised her head saying: âNanny, I donât feel wellâŠâ
Scared, nanny Ye squatted down to examine her condition, âMiss, where do you feel bad? Didnât your sickness get better? Did you catch a chill because of the wind?â
Nanny Ye was over 30 years old, properly maintained, with regular facial features, better natured than most women.
Ah Luoâs mother, Jiang Miaolan, had brought nanny Ye along when after her marriage. Since Madam Jiang had gone, nanny Ye had raised Ah Luo, so she treated her like her own daughter. Now that she heard the child wasnât feeling well, her heart hurt.
Wei Luo wasnât really unwell, only didnât want to ride in the carriage with Madam Du, so she was acting like a spoiled brat to nanny Ye. In the end, nanny Ye and Du Yueying gave up, and let her take the same carriage as nanny Ye, then took the road down the mountain.
Sitting in the carriage, Wei Luo calmed down at once, and hugged nanny Yeâs waist, saying: âNanny, donât leave me, donât leave Ah Luo alone.â
After being together since morning, nanny Ye figured out Wei Luo didnât like Madam Du. She found it a little strange. Before, although Ah Luo and Madam Du werenât too intimate, there were no feelings of disgust. So what happened today?
She couldnât help remembering the words Ah Luo had spoken this morning: âFourth aunt said that I have a mother, madam is not my mother.â
She sighed. The little girl was probably missing her mother.
With such thoughts, she touched Wei Luoâs head lovingly: âI wonât leave you. Where would I go if I leave you? When Miss has grown up and gotten sick of me, Iâll leave then.â
Wei Luo mumbled: âIâll never get sick of nanny.â
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Nanny Yeâs face showed a warm smile.
The Ying residence carriage rode down the mountain, woods on both sides of the road, the swaying trees rustling and throwing thick shade. As they went in further, it didnât seem like the path they had taken previously. Jin Lu raised the curtain to ask the carriage driver vigilantly: âThis is not the way home, why are you taking this path?â
The driver was already bought over by Madam Du. Lowering his head, he said ambiguously: âIt was the madamâs orders. The madam is here to see someone.â
Jin Lu knit her brows and lowered the curtain with some discontent: âWhat kind of person does she have to meet⊠In a such a wild and remote place.â
The carriages finally stopped in front of a wooden cabin. Soon after, a maidservant helped Madam Du to get down. Wei Luo peeked through the binds. Not far from the cabin door, stood a man and a womanâââthe people Madam Du had contacted.